I must admit I am a human animal. I wasn’t aware of that
until I watched the Channel 13 Weekend Magazine and watched Oshrat Kotler
informing the nation that I have been sent [by my parents?] to the army and they
got back a human animal.

And I didn’t know that I was this kind of human being.

Well Oshrat, let me tell you about my adventures in the “territories.” I got
there because I was sent – no, not by my parents but by my commanders. I was
sent there in order to defend my parents, you and all Israeli inhabitants, both
Jews and Arabs. I am not a political figure, so I won’t get into the
discussion of “occupation.” I just wish to relate to you some of my
adventures there.

During my compulsory service, I was in charge of a checkpoint south of the Dotan
Junction. A car with a Palestinian couple arrived at the checkpoint with the
mother holding a baby in her arms. The father told me that they are on their way
to the Nablus Hospital because the baby fell, resulting in a suspected scalp
fracture. I looked at the baby and was doubtful whether the hospital in Nablus
is suitable for such case. I called the regiment doctor, who came over with an
ambulance and rushed the family to the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera.
Before leaving, the father asked for my cell phone number. The other day he
called in order to thank me and in his own words, “You saved the life of my
daughter.” He did not think that I was a human animal.

In another case during my reserved duty, I was ordered to set up a roadblock
north of the Lido Junction in order to prevent Palestinians from getting to the
Dead Sea “because the vacationers will be scared and leave.” I followed the
order, yet contacted my battalion commander, telling him that in my eyes the
checkpoint was illegal. He, too, felt bad about the situation and promised to
check with Division Commander. I asked the Palestinians to wait while I checked
what could be done. In the meanwhile, I treated the children with sweets, which
I kept in my pocket for such occasions.

Fortunately, after a short while my commander informed me that he got permission
to dismantle the checkpoint and the Palestinians were allowed to continue. I am
certain that they, too, disagree with the title that you gave me.

Indeed, during my long service in the territories, I was exposed to unethical
behavior. A non-commissioned officer humiliated drivers of a vehicle that he
stopped in order to check their papers; a soldier accepted a can of Coke offered
by a driver and I even saw a soldier try to hit a Palestinian that was stopped
and handicapped. The non-commissioned officer was arrested, brought to trial and
expelled from our unit; the can of Coke was returned to the Palestinian driver
with an apology and the soldier, a reserve corporal, who tried to hit someone
was tried and convicted.

I don’t believe that even these soldiers are human animals and I doubt whether
any other army would have reacted like the IDF.

In your “apology” at the end of the program, you made clear that your
criticism was directed “solely toward those soldiers that our control of the
Palestinians in the territories has led them to harm innocents.”

The question whether they said Palestinians were innocent is irrelevant to the
fact that the behavior of the soldiers must be condemned. Yet, in order to get
the full picture, it must be added that these Palestinians in the incident you
refer to were involved in the attack that led to the murder of Mor Yosef and
Yosef Cohen, who served with the said soldiers. This, too, is no excuse for
their behavior, yet may supply some context and explanation. More important, how
did you find out about these actions? Well, you became aware following an army
investigation that led to criminal proceedings. Don’t you think it proper to
compliment an army who that took steps against soldiers who acted illegally?

As an alibi, you emphasized that “my own children and their friends have all
been combat soldiers in the territories for many years; my own friends as
well.” According to Wikipedia, you are a mother of two daughters. As such,
they were not obliged to serve in combat units. Allow me to commend you, that
thanks to your upbringing, they volunteered for meaningful service. I sincerely
hope that although they served in the territories, they did not come back as
human animals.

The writer is a reserve lieutenant commander serving as commander of the patrol
division of an artillery battalion.